AI stocks have been on a roller coaster ride in 2025 amid a one-two punch of DeepSeek and tariff fears. Meanwhile, corporate America is pouring billions of dollars into AI capex to meet insatiable demand. Tech stocks never promised a smooth ride, and AI stocks are a case study in volatility.
A trio of AI stocks – BigBear.ai (NYSE: BBAI), Palantir Technologies (NYSE: PLTR) and Cloudflare (NYSE: NET) – have bucked the trend, soaring by at least double-digit percentages and leaving their peers in the dust.
Of the three stocks, BigBear.ai advanced a whopping 27% on Friday alone, touching on a 52-week high for a market cap of $2.1 billion. Palantir Technologies tacked on its gains earlier in the week for an impressive weekly increase of 37.5%. Not to be outdone, Cloudflare rose 17% on Friday and gained about 25% on the week.
BigBear.ai FOMO
BigBear.ai, which provides AI-powered intelligence solutions to the defense sector and supply chain, scored a key government contract midweek with the Department of Defense, creating FOMO around the stock. It was chosen by the DOD’s Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office (CDAO) to advance its Virtual Anticipation Network (VANE) prototype, thereby equipping soldiers with AI capabilities. BigBear.ai stock, which is getting close to a multi-year high, has gained a reputation as the next Palantir, which incidentally also made our list. In response to the key contract win, Cantor Fitzgerald analysts more than doubled their price target on BBAI to $8 from $3.50.
Palantir’s ‘Astounding’ Q4
Palantir’s rally came the old fashioned way – in response to solid earnings. The company, which plays in a similar sandbox as BigBear.ai, now boasts a market cap of $253.5 billion and according to a Wall Street analyst could be on its way to a $1 trillion market cap. The company’s “astounding” Q4 results, per CEO Alexander Karp, were fueled by robust demand for its AI platform and had many highlights, including 52% year-over-year U.S. revenue growth.
Cloudflare
Cloudflare has been soaring on better-than-expected Q4 earnings results, but it’s also gaining attention for what CEO Matthew Prince had to say about DeepSeek’s AI model. On a call with analysts, Prince said, “This idea that the only way to win in AI was to spend hundreds of billions or even trillions of dollars—I think DeepSeek shook that foundation and I think that plays very much to Cloudflare’s strength.” His confidence resonated with investors and analysts alike. William Blair analyst Jonathan Ho pointed to “significant opportunities in AI” for which Cloudflare is well positioned.
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